The Grand Juror Doesn’t Speak

Did ABC really think viewers would be OK with that? That they could name a show “JonBenet: Grand Juror Speaks,” have a logo with those exact words emblazoned at the bottom of the screen for most of the hour…. Then have the juror say, nah, not gonna answer the one thing everyone wants to know. WTF!

I should have known better than to get my hopes up with the juror when I saw that Lawrence Kobilinsky was being dragged out of his crypt to [yet again] comment on the misleading DNA. Here’s what he said on A&E back in September:

“I think the inescapable conclusion is that an unidentified male committed this crime. This person committed that sexual assault and murdered JonBenet.” – Lawrence Kobilinsky, A&E

Inescapable? Well whoever it was, they’ve escaped detection for 20 years. Clearly that evidence isn’t exactly rock solid. But for a moment 20/20 dangles a carrot and makes the viewer think that perhaps Kobilinsky has had a change of heart. They declare that they’ve obtained the DNA reports – guess what, so have a lot of other people. After he pores over them in a bit of a drumroll moment, and admits the two spots of Touch DNA on JonBenet’s clothing are ‘not perfect’ nor would he say the spots are a ‘match,’ Kobilinsky says Mary Lacy was right to exonerate the Ramseys. Dr. Baden doesn’t agree. Neither do several other experts. Neither does the current DA, Stan Garnett. Nor do we.

“What I am confident about is that the Ramsey case is more than a DNA case, and to ever have a prosecutable case, we have to have several different parts of it come together. DNA would be a part of it. We need a number of other things as well.” – Stan Garnett,Daily Camera

As for the mysterious grand juror, are there any insights we can glean from him at all?

AMY: Before you became a grand juror, what did you know about the JonBenet Ramsey case?

JUROR: Very little. I saw that there was a little girl dressed up with, in my opinion, a sexual persona and it disgusted me and I turned off the TV.

Interesting that he was so turned off by the pageants. I wonder if his opinion of that changed during the proceedings or if they played any part in the indictments. We wouldn’t know, because unfortunately Amy Robach only asked him three questions, at least that we got to see.

He next shares what it was like to be in that basement when the jurors were taken on a field trip to see the house. His response seems to support the same thing both housekeepers, Linda Hoffman Pugh and Linda Wilcox, said about the unlikeliness of an intruder committing this crime.

JUROR: In the basement where she was found it was actually kind of an obscure layout. And you had to, to go into, you come down the stairwell, and you had to go into another room to find a door that was closed. It was a very eerie feeling. It was like, somebody had been killed here.

The next question I found a bit ridiculous. We’ve all known since 2013 that the grand jury voted to indict on two charges, so what’s the point of asking this?

AMY: Was there enough evidence to indict John and Patsy Ramsey of a crime?

JUROR: Based upon the evidence that was presented I believe that’s correct.

This for me was probably the most interesting answer of the entire [brief] exchange. The way he says ‘based upon the evidence that was presented’ you get the sense that he feels he voted accordingly but perhaps not as he would have liked had there been other information given or factors met. And if that’s the case, what was missing for him?

AMY: (voiceover) But did he believe the Ramseys would be convicted?

JUROR: No. There is no way that I would be able to say ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ this is the person.

He doesn’t hesitate at all on this answer. But what’s frustrating is Robach has asked him a pretty vague question. One would assume, when she asked him if the Ramseys would be convicted, she meant for the charges the grand jury voted to indict them on. But she doesn’t exactly clarify that. And his answer seems to suggest he was referring to which of them [John or Patsy] committed the actual murder.

Hasn’t that always been the problem with this case though… trying to pin “murder” on only one of the three? In our narratives we explain precisely why this doesn’t work.

AMY: There was no smoking gun?

JUROR: Not to the point of knowing exactly what happened, or exactly who was involved, no. And you are the district attorney, if you know, if you know that going in, it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars to do it.

It’s a pretty cryptic and also contradictory interview, isn’t it? He agrees there was evidence to indict, so he clearly feels there were crimes committed that were provable. But he also feels strongly there wasn’t enough for a conviction, but a conviction of what and of who? Murder, accessory, neglect? We just don’t know.

He does seem to think he knows who the killer is. So why would it be a total waste for a jury to hear this case? Isn’t that where justice is supposed to play out – in a courtroom? There was obviously enough of something presented for him to positively think that he knows who did it. But maybe that’s where the clue lies, in all of this silence.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume he believes the killer is one of the family members. Even though we don’t know exactly what evidence was presented, we do know who [most] of the witnesses were and they were all Ramsey-centric. So, which one of the three is it? Does his hesitation stem from the very same reason the records remain so tightly sealed after all these years?

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3 thoughts on “The Grand Juror Doesn’t Speak”

well lisa ABC 20 20 r the same news outlet that the russsians helped trump win the election…. watching this special about the juror was of course done for ratings since no one watches them anymore.. the only thing i regret is thats a hour of my life i won’t get back…

Hey Robert… Yea, I was disappointed too. With many of these recent documentaries, the only thing I find of value are some new crime scene images we haven’t seen before. The rest tends to be misdirection and fluff.

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